-40 wind chills expected on Christmas morning for Manitoba

An area of high pressure will bring some cold Arctic air on the backside of the departing low pressure system, which will bring snow to parts of the Southern Prairie Provinces over the next 24hrs.

Canadian GEPS Ensemble showing surface temperatures (in C) on Wednesday morning.

Temperatures will be near -20C for parts of Southern Saskatchewan and Southern Manitoba on Wednesday morning. Combined with strong winds funneling in the Red River Valley, wind chills may approach -40. Areas with more open-ground (less tree cover), such as south of the lakes, are especially at risk of experiencing extreme cold on Wednesday.

Below is the expected wind chill values for Wednesday morning:

Various models showing surface temperatures (in C) on Wednesday morning

On Thursday, it will be even colder:

NAM model for Thursday morning showing surface temperatures (in C)

With the wind, some areas will see wind chills exceed -40:

RDPS model showing wind chills (in C) on Thursday morning

Stay tuned for the latest watches/warning issued by Environment Canada here: https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/index_e.html